2022-2023 School Blog
Year 3 turn Roman for the day
Continuing their learning in the subject of the Romans, our Year 3 children dressed in Roman attire for the day. We had gladiators, slaves, Kings, Queens and Emperors - they all looked amazing! The children also enjoying a very creative day making shields to go with their costumes, and mosaics. Great job Year 3!
Year 6 Leavers
We can't believe another year is drawing to a close. Our Year 6 children are preparing for their move to their next schools. We will miss them very much and wish them all the best. This week we have held a leavers' service for them in the church, as well as a family picnic with a fabulous bouncy castle.
FoBS Fundraising
Mrs Lea and FoBS hold regular meetings to discuss how, with the help of FoBS, the children's experience at school can be enriched. The last large project was the library renovation and this year, during the summer holidays, the activity area in key stage 1 will be having a facelift. Mrs Lea and FoBS have designed and planned the area so the children will come back to a lovely new space, allowing for small break out groups and a reading/cosy corner. Fundraising and the support of parents and carers has made this possible.
Thank you to FoBS for all your hard work and making this happen! If you’d like to be involved with FobS, email talktofobs@gmail.com
Sports kit
The school has enjoyed a number of sports tournaments this term and we're delighted that the children now have new sports kits to wear whilst playing. Huge thanks to FoBS fundraising and to Boxford Farms for their generous donation of £500. We're so pleased with our super smart sports kit and are looking forward to our next tournament.
School trip to Matilda the musical
The children and staff had a fantastic trip to London on Wednesday. The first stop was The National Gallery followed by lunch in Trafalgar Square and then on to see the west end production of Matilda – a great time was had by all!
Matilda
Year 6 have been superstars this week. They have worked so hard learning all their lines, songs and moves for Matilda and the result is spectacular! Congratulations to the whole year group, we're really proud of you all.
Young East Anglian Artists
We were thrilled to learn that some of our pupils' artwork has been chosen for the YEAA Exhibition in Woodbridge. There were over 1,000 entries from surrounding schools in Suffolk so we have done very well to have ten children represented. We submitted 20 final pieces. The children whose artwork has been selected are: Agnes in Year 1; Oliver, Caleb and Isabella M in Year 2; Alex and Michael in Year 4; and Beckett, Otto, Oden and Forrest in Year 6. The exhibition takes place in Woodbridge at the Long Shed/John Gibbens Gallery on 23rd, 24th, 25th June, 9-5pm. The artwork will be on sale to raise money for Cancer Research UK.
Tyre allotment
Year 2 has been busy this week planting their tyre allotment. They filled the tyres with compost and have planted out strawberries, beans, leeks and salad leaves. Year 2 are proving to be very green fingered! Meanwhile, one of the year 5 pupils has planted out sunflowers that have been grown from seed. We hope that these will grow well in their sunny position and look forward to seeing how quickly they shoot up!
Year 6 Residential to Thorpe Woodlands
Year 6 have had an amazing time on their residential! They’ve took part in kayaking, caving, crate stacking, archery, mountain biking and using the Big Swing, sounds like something out of a James Bond film! What an adventure and fantastic memories they’ve made!
Year 6 circulatory systems
In between their SATs, the Year 6 children have been enjoying some fresh air in the playground as well as doing some fun and interactive learning. They traced around each other using chalk and then filled in the circulatory system including lots of fun facts about the heart.
Reception self-portraits
The Reception children have enjoyed drawing self-portraits. We love all the little details and are very impressed by their fine pen handling. Well done Reception!
Year 1 trip to Colchester Zoo
The summer term got off to a flying start with Year 1's trip to Colchester Zoo. The children had a wonderful time spotting all the animals and learning more about habitats and animal characteristics. They were incredibly excited to see the tigers, giraffes and rhinos at feeding time!
Welcome to the summer term!
We'd like to welcome all our families back to school after the Easter holidays and hope that they had a good break. Spring has sprung in Boxford and all the bulbs that were planted in the autumn are flowering and looking fabulous. We have a busy term planned with lots of school trips and activities - please check the calendar on the home page, and on the weekly newsletter, for details of what's happening when.
Year 2 field trip to High Woods Country Park
Year 2 packed their waterproofs and wellies and took the bus to High Woods Country Park on Thursday. High Woods is one of Colchester's best-loved beauty spots. The park provides habitats for thousands of different birds and mammals, including woodland, a lake, wildflower meadows, marshes, hayfields, scrubland, and open spaces. The children took part in activities such as pond dipping and learnt all about the habitats around them - they had a lovely day out in what turned out being the warmest day of the year so far.
Boxford take on Ipswich High School Prep at netball
Boxford took two teams to Ipswich High School Prep this week to play netball matches. The A team fought a tough match, never giving up and, despite a loss, were really impressive to the final whistle. The B team were equally tenacious with some fantastic defense work and managed to score two goals to win the match 2-0! We're really proud of both teams as this was their first competitive match and thank you to all the parents who supported them.
World Book Day - the costumes!
Here a few highlights from last week's World Book Day. We loved seeing everyone's costumes, there were some brilliantly creative ones - thank you for getting involved and for all your support at the book fair.
World Book Day
We had a great day on Thursday celebrating World Book Day. In addition to some fabulous dressing up, we also ran a vegetable book character competition. Have a look at these brilliant entries - we're really impressed with them and choosing winners is going to be particularly tricky!
Year 2 - Seeds in fruit
Year 2 have been studying seeds in fruit in science this week. They have produced some very detailed drawings of what they've observed in apples, kiwis, plums and other fruits. Well done Year 2, this shows fantastic understanding.
Year 3 - Castles
Year 3 have been busy creating castles this week. The activity area has been buzzing with industry and both the children and the staff are delighted with the results!
Year 4 - flower of life
Year 4 have created geometric shapes using compasses to make flower of life patterns that people have used for thousands of years. This special symbol represents the cycle of life. It's believed that within this symbol is held the most meaningful and sacred patterns of our universe as a whole.
Reception - bird topic
Reception have been busy learning about birds this week, studying their habitats, identifying native birds and looking at birds that live in different countries. Today they learnt about penguins, making these lovely card cutouts. With the current cold temperatures, penguins would feel very at home in Boxford this week! Super work Reception!
Cheesy Comics Inc
Year 6 pupils, Toby and Edward, have put their creative skills to good use and, over the last few days, have designed and created a children's comic. Cheesy Comics Inc, put together in their spare time, is a visual feast with three different stories with characters including Detective Bob and Mrs Pea. The two friends have been selling the comic in Boxford village and at school, raising over £200 so far!
All funds are being donated to their chosen charity, Cancer Research. Children are able to purchase the comic at school for £1.
Amazing work Toby and Edward, we're so impressed with your creativity and what a great way to raise money for such an important charity.
Happy New Year!
We wish all our families, staff and children a very happy new year and a big welcome back to school. This term looks set to be a busy one with lots of forest school dates, parent information sessions and family assemblies in the diary . There is also a whole new selection of clubs available including afterschool gymnastics, computing, netball and football. For more information, and details on how to book, please take a look at the newsletter or visit the clubs page.
FoBS Festive Fayre - a huge hit!
Thank you to everyone who donated, wrapped, set up, tidied, manned stalls, painted faces and sold goodies - the Festive Fayre was a huge success and would not have been possible without the collective effort of the whole school community. Huge thanks do have to go to our wonderful joint-chairs of FoBS, Sarah and Gabby, for pulling it all together. The children had a fabulous time, the Jolly Jars were very popular as always, and the face painting went down a treat. Congratulations to the winners of the hampers - we hope that you are enjoying all the goodies.
FoBS Festive Fayre
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the hampers! Here is a sneak preview - they look incredible and will make fantastic prizes for the lucky winners. Thank you too for all our wonderful Jolly Jars - these are always a real hit with the children and this year we have nearly 100. We're so excited about the Fayre this afternoon and can't wait to see you all later.
Mindful garden
A couple of hours were spent weeding and tidying the mindful garden on Saturday afternoon. In addition, over 200 bulbs were planted to make the garden look fabulous in the spring. Thank you to Jackie for ordering and planting all the bulbs - we can wait to see the garden blossom next year.
Sporting fixtures
Year 6 have had a busy week with sporting fixtures. It kicked off with a couple of friendly basketball games against Great Waldingfield Primary; Boxford won one 26-22 and lost one 26-18. The children thoroughly enjoyed the experience and improved their skills with each match. It was lovely to see a lot of key qualities that we look for at Boxford in action such as sportsmanship, fun, celebrating the success of others, perseverance and respect.
Year 6 also enjoyed a football match against Pot Kiln Primary where they played a fantastic game of football resulting in a win for Boxford 4-0. The game was played in great spirit and the children conducted themselves magnificently and were a credit to the school. The children played well as a team and learnt new positions and skills.
FoBS Christmas events
FoBS are planning a host of fun events in the run up to Christmas. There are lots of ways parents can get involved - below is a list of items to donate as well as key dates for when these items need to be in school. Thank you in advance for all your help and support and we look forward to seeing you on Friday 2nd December at 3.15pm for the Festive Fayre.
•Hamper Donations: Please drop your items in to school by Friday 25th November
•Hamper Raffle Tickets: Please return your counterfoils and money to the office by Wednesday 30th November
•Jolly Jars: Please return you decorated jars with treats inside to school by Wednesday 30th November
•Cake Competition: Festive bakes, cupcakes, biscuits etc in to school on Thursday 1st December
•Santa’s Grotto: Tickets will be available to purchase from next week
Remembrance Day - Year 5 poems
Year 5 have been reflecting on all the soldiers who lost their lives fighting to protect our freedom. They have written some beautiful and poignant poems which are on display at school. All children will take part in a 2-minute silence at 11am on Friday 11th November.
The Great Fire of London - Year 2
Year 2 have been learning about The Great Fire of London. They've put their artistic skills to the test by drawing some beautiful Tudor houses, and then drawing the flames which engulfed them. Great job Year 2.
Fish!
The nurture area has some new residents! The fish tank is now full of an array of fish and the children are enjoying watching them swim happily around. The nurture area is new this term and offers children a relaxed and informal space in which to reflect, discuss any worries with teachers or learn.
European day of languages
The whole school dressed up for European Day of Languages. Children and staff came in national costume or in the colours of a flag - the school looked very colourful indeed! Each year group studied the customs of a different country, with Year 2 learning about Holland. They tasted Dutch Apple Cake, made tulips and did some Dutch dancing.
Year 6 boat trip on the Orwell
Year 6 enjoyed a trip on the Orwell Lady through the Prince Philip Lock, under the iconic Orwell Bridge and then travelled to view Freston Folly before returning to Orwell Quay on Ipswich waterfront. They all had a great time!
Reception self-portraits
One of our Year 2 pupils has made a wonderful gesture and had her lovely long locks cut and donated to The Princess Trust. The charity provide thousands of real-hair wigs to sick children and young people aged up to 24 years across the UK and Ireland. As you can see from the photo, her hair was very long which enabled her to donate a beautiful length of hair of nearly half a metre as well as raising an amazing £356 for the charity – well done!
Whole school art project
The whole school have been involved in an art project, studying the work of abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky. The finished artwork is now decorating the hall and adds much colour and vibrancy to the room. Well done everyone.
Welcome back to school!
We welcome all pupils and families to Boxford School and hope that you have all had a wonderful summer holiday.
To mark the start of a new academic year, the teachers have chosen new names for their classes based on people that inspire them. They are as follows:
Reception – John Williams – an American composer, conductor and pianist. In a career that has spanned seven decades, he has composed some of the most popular, recognizable and critically acclaimed film scores in cinematic history;
Y1 – Chloe Kelly - an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Manchester City in the FA WSL and the England national team;
Y2 - Alf Ramsey - an English football player and manager. As a player, he represented the England national team and captained the side, but he is best known for his time as England manager from 1963 to 1974, which included guiding them to victory in the 1966 FIFA World Cup;
Y3 – Mark Beaumont - a British long-distance cyclist, broadcaster and author. He holds the record for cycling round the world, completing his 18,000-mile route on 18 September 2017, having taken less than 79 days;
Y4 - Benjamin Zephaniah - a British writer and dub poet. He was included in The Times list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008;
Y5 – David Attenborough - an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author;
Y6 – Elizabeth Garret Anderson - an English physician and suffragist. She was the first woman to qualify in Britain as a physician and surgeon.